Our Traveling Diaries
by romenko
Summary: The Timeless story that started it all. A recently defeated demon lord. A mute orphaned girl. And of course the bigmouth water kappa. These are their personal thoughts up until and beyond their fateful meeting. The adventure commences    !
1. Chapter 1: Waiting in Vain

**Authors Note: My first fanfic ever XD!. This originally was written for a writing class that focused on travel related themes. For my final paper, I wrote a fan fiction (i sure did) following Rin and the gang as they traveled throughout Japan. The thesis of my paper was that for the individuals involved, travel provides a way to foster one's identity... or something like that, anyway, enjoy ^_^!) **

Disclaimer: I don't own smack.

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><p><strong>Chapter I: "Waiting in Vain"<strong>

_When we travel, our very beings change. When we travel we have a mission, a goal, somewhere to go, and somewhere to be (and perhaps there is someone or something waiting for us there). In the first part of our story, we are introduced to our 3 interesting characters: Rin, a mute orphaned girl left to fend for herself after witnessing the murder of her family, Lord Sesshoumaru, the youkai lord of the Western Lands who has recently lost a battle with his half-brother Inuyasha, and of course Jaken, the loyal (and at times bigmouthed) servant of Lord Sesshoumaru, who is anxiously awaiting for his lord's return. Let us peek on these three in their reflections on spaces, confinement and the inability to move. When we travel, our very beings change. When we are still, our very beings are challenged._

**Rin (Day -15)**

I am as quiet as still water. When I move, I move cautiously. I do this because I do not want to anger the villagers who stare at me with burnt, scary…sad eyes. When I was a spec, they used to laugh with my parents when they were still alive. But that is different now, they are different now. Mama used to say that death not only kills people, but also the hearts of the living too. "But why mama?" …I can't remember what she said to me then, but it was something I didn't understand anyway. But anyway, my stomach hurts right now. I need to move cautiously along the river to try to find food. And just like yesterday and tomorrow, I will stay silent, just like the water.

**Rin (Day -11)**

My hut is my hut. It is small and is tidy. Cold and welcoming. It is my space; it is my little place to where I fill it with me and my tasks. When I make fire or cook or store food, my body makes shapes in the shadows, making me seem bigger than I really am. I move freely in my hut, just like when papa was here and I felt safe. Today though, I decided to stop moving so freely. I heard a rustle outside and I thought my heart landed on the floor. I think a hundred moments passed before I moved. My hut is my hut; it is a fragile and delicate place. A space for unwanted surprises, a place now frozen, (but still welcoming).

**Lord Sesshoumaru (Day -7)**

This Lord Sesshoumaru is not happy. In fact, he is quite livid at the current predicament he now finds himself in; utterly defeated by the hanyou bastard. This revelation does more to my ego than I am willing to admit. And anyways, I care not dawdle on the _one_ occasion my brother had the upper hand of me in battle.

How bothersome this week has been…and now I am stuck here, bruised, dirty and vulnerable to any idiot who wishes to bother me… But my mind is drifting now; there are other matters that should be considered now. One such is that most of my left arm is gone now - but that is inconsequential, it is only my right that I need to use my sword and take revenge on Inuyasha. I am Lord Sesshoumaru, Lord of the Western Lands and soon to be Lord of all of Japan – nothing impedes me, not even the mutilation of an arm…

But how frustrating is it to be stuck here in this forest, this great Lord unable to move – cut down by the half-breed bastard I call my brother. How bothersome... To be stuck here in this damn forest for another second…and because of him. These thoughts boil my blood now. I want to kill something…slowly.

**Jaken (Day - 7)**

"Lord Sesshoumaru!"

_Where have that dog demon gone? Could it have been he was seriously injured by his half-breed brother while in battle? Impossible!_

"Lord Sesshoumaru, where are you!"

_But…what should I care about Lord Sesshoumaru for? He cut me down just the other day claiming that he wanted to "test" his father's sword to see if it worked or not! The nerve – and to think of all of the years I have faithfully served him! He didn't really mean to test that sword on me, right? He was just teasing me like always…right?_

"LORD SESSHOUMARU!"

_I'm getting too old for this – no wait, what am I saying? What are you saying Jaken? If you do not serve Lord Sesshoumaru, what would you being doing now? No! If following Lord Sesshoumaru to the end of the world is what is necessary to be close to him, then I will do that! …But..that will be difficult if he is not here now….…I still can't believe he cut me down!_

"LORRRDD SESSHO-"

_Oh forget it, I'm taking a break._

**Lord Sesshoumaru (Day - 4)**

Being stuck here in this GOD-FORSAKEN forest for the last 3 days has allowed me to realize that I, Lord Sesshoumaru, am accustomed to moving. Rarely are my days punctuated by rest and relaxation, no, I must always be on the move covering my territory and making sure nothing gets out of hand. Who else will remind the lower and foolish dai-youkai of their place? Yes, I, Lord Sesshoumaru am a mover and my immobility right now does not serve me well. I want to leave this place, with its sameness and boring familiarity – same trees, same grass, same annoying birds in the morning, and the _smell._For sure there is a human village nearby for there could be no other source for such an overwhelming odor. Humans. What purpose they serve on this Earth other than being the food for desperate bear youkai will be beyond me. A pathetic and useless species – and to think that my father, the great Inutaisho took one of them for a bride and conceived that…abomination that plagues me today. ..Being confined to this place has made this Lord Sesshoumaru most annoyingly reflective.


	2. Chapter 2: Meet Me Half Way

**Author's Note: Did you know lactose tolerance is a mutation? I did, now you do too ^_^! Mutant ice-cream eaters UNITE!**

Disclaimer: I don't own smack.

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: "Meet me Half Way"<strong>

_When we start to move, when we make actions to transverse across plains never travelled, to meet people we have never met (and perhaps will never meet again), taking that little leap of courage is all that is need to start an adventure. But there is always collateral damage in this sort of luxury of the moving bodies – awkward moments of silence, perhaps a miscommunication or two (and don't mention if you meet someone who's not comfortable with your presence to begin with…). These things are only minors though. The main thing to do in the beginning is to gather the courage to step out - step out of that the box of familiarity and safety we call home…_

**Rin (Day 0)**

Today I found something… someone? It looked…the person looked…hurt. Never have I seen something so bright and frightening and sad to look at. When I got closer to it, it sat up and growled at me with _real_red eyes. Even though I was scared at first, I don't know why, but I knew it wouldn't hurt me. It was alone - he was alone, and hurt… I would feel bad if I left him alone. I will help him…my feet carry me faster than I mean to go.

**Lord Sesshoumaru (Day 4)**

Perhaps I spoke too soon, or perhaps it was the gods above that have forsaken me, for it is not a blood thirsty rival youkai who have come to finish me off, but a wretched human girl instead. I almost wished I had a stick to throw at her when she came closer (and mind you I _growled_at her to keep her away), but no, it seems my unwanted visitor is determined to make me better. How amusing. For the last four days she has come to me with offerings of food and water. I have refused her coolly every time of course.

"Mind your business human, I do not eat human food"

She looks disappointed every time I tell her this, and then the next day she brings me something different – leaves, wilted flowers, even rocks one time. She is the most pathetic of humans I have ever seen. Small and starved looking, dirty hair, soiled clothes, and those hands – how could hands so small be so bruised and mangled? I've concluded she's most probably an orphan; it's only a matter of time before she dies out here on her own…

How….

**Rin (Day 5, early)**

I am worried. He will eat nothing or drink the water I bring for him. He must be very sick, I should try to make fish stew for him like mom would, that always made me feel better! But …to do this…I have to be careful…and very, very quiet…

**Sesshoumaru (Day 5, later)**

Finally, any day now I will be well enough to leave this place. My wounds are not nearly healed enough, but they are not life threatening and so as soon as I am able I will depart without regret. And THAT will be a great relief on my nerves, being immobile have made irritated and in need of killing something (perhaps I will kick Jaken around for a warm up). And not only that, I will be relieved of that girl's pestering visits…which reminds me, she is late for her offering…Which is good, hopefully I will never have to endure – oh speak of the devil,

"Human, for the last time I do not need anything."

Like always she sighs and looks down defeated… but there is something different today. Although I am not looking directly at her, what I have notice is undeniable. I hesitate to say something, but alas, my dreaded curiosity gets the best of me.

"…Where did you get those bruises?"

For a moment she says and do nothing. I quickly added,

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

And I thought I saved myself right there, squashing my embarrassing moment of inquisition, but instead to my utmost horror and irritation she smiled gleefully and laughed.

"What what are you happy for? I don't care I was just curious."

She continued to smile with delight…

Any day now.

**Rin (Day 6)**

Something very good is going to happen today, I have a feeling, a very, very good feeling.

**Lord Sesshoumaru (Day 6)**

FREEDOM. I am off, gone into the horizon, a free demon Lord, I can't walk fast enough to match my zeal.

**Jaken (Day 6)**

He was testing

He was teasing

He was testing

He was teasing

He was testing….

"He was testing! How could you Lord Sesshoumaru? And after all of my loyal years to you! You ungrateful dog!"

And then I was promptly pummeled with a large pebble in the back of the head ("Ooph!")

"Lord Sesshoumaru X_x!"

I quickly jumped to my feet for I had to know:

"My Lord, were you just teasing me when cut me down with the Tenseiga the other day?"

"Jaken, I expected a more relieved welcome from you on my return."

"Oh, oh yes Lord Sesshoumaru – I am very relieved that you are ok, I thought you were dead!" By the time I had woken up from my concussion Lord Sesshoumaru had run off again saying something about smelling blood…ungrateful dog…

**Sesshoumaru (Day 6)**

Well, this is most…disturbing. The human girl who was smiling and laughing annoyingly just yesterday is now in front of me in a crumpled mauled and bloody heap. Apparently she was attacked by wolves, and as much as I would hate to admit it, it…disturbed me (is this what you call compassion?). Tenseiga, the useless sword that cannot cut, the sword my father gave me, pulsed at my side suddenly.

"…Perhaps I will do another test."

Taking out Tenseiga, demons from the underworld surrounding the girl's body suddenly became visible.

_Interesting…_

In one clean swipe I cut them all down, disappearing just as quickly as they came

"Lord Sesshoumaru! What are you doing?"

I knelt down by the girl and pulled her up with my one remaining arm.

"Who is this human girl Lord Sesshoumaru?" _Shut up Jaken, just shut up._

But I am unable to say this to him at the moment for I am mesmerized at the pair of large brown eyes that has suddenly fluttered open and stares up at me.


	3. Chapter 3: Here Comes the Sun

**Author's Note: If you hadn't notice yet, the titles of the chapters are after songs. Can you name all the artists to the songs? I betcha u can :D!**

Disclaimer: I still don't own smack.

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: "Here Comes the Sun"<strong>

_Where do our identities go when we leave the place where we made them behind? Do we pack them up with us, or leave them to dust over on the shelves of our most private memories? Does it morph into something unexpected, or does it simply disappear? And when we travel, are traveling, traveled, and have traveled what happens to our identities then – are they sanded down to something new and different, or smashed together like putty with another identity we picked up along the way? Does this new identity drag its feet whilst you travel or float benevolently by you side, bellowing in your ear, or poking your sides? Tell me, what happens to yourself when you travel? What happens when you become travel itself?_

**Jaken (Day 23)**

How did I get to be this way? What did I ever do to anger Lord Sesshoumaru this much…and I HATE FLOWERS!

"Jaken-sama, let's play a game!"

"NO, blasted child, no!"

"Oh, please Jaken-sama, pleeeaaasssseee!"

"WHAT GAME?"

"Tag?"

"No!"

"Hide n seek?"

"No!"

"Fairy princess tales make-believe?"

"Ok."

"Really?"

"No!"

"Ah, Jaken-sama is so mean…"

"And you're so annoying, so now we're even."

"Tag! You're it!"

"I said no tag!"

"You're it Jaken-sama! You can't catch me!"

"You runt! Come here!

"Weeeee!"

**Rin (Day 56)**

Yellow flower, pink flower, blue flower. Did you know that there are countless colors in the world, or that waterfalls can be taller than if all the village men if they all stood on each other's head? This is a funny thought, but I've seen it. This Rin has seen almost every kind of rock, of every color and smoothness. I have seen some of the tallest trees (taller than Lord Sesshoumaru!) to the barest fields of sands and hot lava .This Rin has seen so much, that for many nights I find it difficult to sleep because I wonder what I will see the next day and the next week and the next full moon. Every day, we, me, Jaken-sama and Lord Sesshoumaru are moving. And because we are always moving, I do not have time to think of mama or papa, or the mean villagers at home (although Jaken-sama sometimes reminds me of them). But no matter where we go, I am always with them, Jaken and Ah-un (our two-headed dragon) and of course Lord Sesshoumaru. Even though Jaken ignores me and Lord Sesshoumaru does not talk very much (Jaken says it's because he is thinking of very important things that don't involve me and that I should mind my own business…what a meanie face), I don't mind because but I am with them nonetheless. Even when Sesshoumaru leaves to deal with dangerous youkai, it doesn't matter because he always returns, and then we are off again - OH! A purple and orange flower?

**Sesshoumaru (Day 120)**

Today was a most dull day. So I traveled on the outskirts of the Eastern Mountains for several days to find a youkai that had been causing trouble for the last few months. What a waste of time, throwing rocks would have sufficed in defeating the ingrate – he didn't even give a remotely entertaining fight, he just squirmed and begged for mercy, and as in the spirit of tradition I did not grant him any. (Deep sigh) So it is back to the place where I left Jaken and Rin, hopefully by the time I get there the toad youkai won't have done anything idiotic to endanger Rin's life.

Why did I take in the girl again? I don't know a random hunch? A desire to be ironic? Whatever the reason, she is now a part of my pack and I can't imagine this changing anytime soon. How…unnerving, taking care of a human child that is. They always need something, food, clothes, something to do, although my Rin is quiet adept to looking after herself. But still, why let her follow me and be a bur- a slight encumbrance to my travels? I suppose my reasons does not matter – no, it does not matter, I am Lord Sesshoumaru, I do what I want with whom I want, whenever I what for whatever reasons. And that is law.

But anyway, I should probably be on my way back to camp to make sure everyone is still alive…just in case.

**Rin (Day 199)**

Traveling can be dangerous. Today when I was distracted by a furry caterpillar on a branch, a crazy boar youkai ran out of nearby bushes towards me. But it did not hurt me because Lord Sesshoumaru killed before it got close to me. He reminded me that it's important for me to always be aware of my surroundings. I say "Hei!" and reassure him that I will be more careful from now on.

Rin has a few important rules to follow while I travel with Lord Sesshoumaru and Jaken-sama, these rules are especially important in especially scary places:

Rule #1: Don't stray

Rule #2: When you need to do your business, tell Jaken

Rule #3: Don't leave scrap food around (too keep animals and hungry youkai away)

Rule #4: Try not to annoy Jaken (although when Sesshoumaru-sama is around this rule is a bit more lax)

Rule #5: In case of real emergency, call for Lord Sesshoumaru

These rules are easy to follow (except maybe 4), and sometimes I have to use number 5, but for the most part Rin is safe and happy, and always looking forward to the new places we will see tomm-

"Rin, we are leaving."

"Hurry up girl!"

"Ok, I'm coming!"

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><p><strong>Fin :D<strong>

**Be Kind and Reply ^_^**


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